“I have read the Bible, and I know it very well. I know the mistranslations, the changes, the corruptions. The Bible you read is very different from the original. Certain passages have been removed. New ones have been added. Words have changed their meaning. Do you take the laws of Leviticus to be true now? Do you wish that every country lived by such laws?” – Andrew M.

Andrew, I don’t believe you have read the Bible. If you had, you wouldn’t believe the things you do. Nothing has changed in Scripture. I have been reading the Bible every day without fail for more than 40 years. It is filled with prophecies written thousands of years before they were fulfilled. Its inspiration is axiomatic. Regarding your question about living under the laws in Leviticus – why would we adopt 3,000-year-old Hebrew civil law? We have our own laws.

“Why do you think God does not intervene if something bad is going to happen? He lets innocent children die or women get raped and murdered. He could stop it at any time, but He just lets it happen. Don’t you see anything wrong with that?” – Jamie D.

Jamie, have you ever lied or stolen something? God let you do it. Have you ever looked with lust, even though He considers it to be adultery? God let you do it. He considers these things to be evil, yet you were allowed to do them. He allows evil (rape and murder), but He warns us that the Day will come when every murderer, rapist, thief, liar and adulterer will get justice – and Hell is God’s place of punishment. If you want Him to deal with evil today, where would you end up? It’s important to know also that God lets 150,000 people die each day, but He offers everlasting life to those who are evil in His eyes. How kind is that? See needGod.com for details.

Matt, this is a mixture of moral and ceremonial Hebrew laws. The moral Law (“You shall not murder,” steal, lie, commit adultery, etc.,) is binding on the whole of humanity. This is summarized in the Ten Commandments and encompasses gossip, cursing, lust and hatred. Its precepts are written on our hearts via the conscience, and each of us will be judged by it on Judgment Day (Romans 2:12, James 2:12). That’s why all of us need a Savior.

Then there is the ceremonial/dietary law, in which God instructed Israel not to eat horses, camels, cats, dogs, lions, tigers, etc. Only those with a split hoof could be eaten. “Unclean” animals such as pigs and lobsters were forbidden, probably because they were scavengers and were therefore not good for their health. God also told them what to wear and the importance of resting one day each week. If they didn’t rest they were liable to suffer from stress, and if they mixed cotton and wool, it would make them sweat.

Christians are free to follow the dietary laws of the Old Testament; however, the New Testament tells us they have no influence on whether or not we enter the Kingdom of Heaven. These laws are not binding on our modern society as is the moral Law, so we can ignore them if we wish. But in doing so we are liable to end up with a stressed, diseased, overweight society that has to rub chemicals under its armpits to stop offensive odor.